Murder in the Mushroom Kingdom 2
by PSULucky
Summary: Join Mario and his friends as they place themselves in the middle of a mind-bending mystery while innocently celebrating New Years Eve. With a cast of shady characters, and unbelievable plot twists, the Mario gang may have a tough time solving this case.
1. Before the Get Together

Yes...it is back. And now, with a whole new mystery for Mario and his friends to solve. For those of you ho have never read the first version of this story, please feel free to do so. It won't really matter, though, but a few characters and scenes I talk about are from the first one.

Also, I've separated the story into ACTS instead of CHAPTERS. As those that my last story know, the chapters were generally from 800-1200 words, and there were 26 of them. This time, there will only be about 7 acts, but each will be around 3,000-6,000 words (Act 1 is pretty long, maybe the longest, at around 6,000 words). Since the acts are pretty long, if you decide to take a break in the middle, you should probably stop somewhere with a line divider and remember where you left off.

But ANYWAY, I hope to see all of my old readers, and perhaps some new readers, enjoying this story very much. Thank you, and enjoy.

* * *

**_Murder In the mushroom Kingdom: 2_**

**Act 1-Before the Get-Together**

Princess Peach was lazily roaming around her castle after a tiresome previous night. And to make it worse, she hardly managed to get any sleep. This made her moody and more likely than usual to be erratic.

The last entire week, really, wasn't that incredible. She hardly got to see Mario at all, and more importantly, she had a bad virus that stuck with her for several days. It wasn't exactly the most pleasant of times...

"Princess..." A familiar voice called. Peach watched as one of her most trustworthy servants, Toadia, came waltzing into the room with a letter in her hand. Not only was she trustworthy, but she had to be the nicest person Peach knew, "There is a letter for you,"

Peach leaned over to grab it, but Toadia pulled the letter back.

"I just want you to know, that it's from the Countess of Chocolate Mountain. I'm sorry I looked, but I couldn't help it. Please don't be angry with me. I told you I was sorry,"

Peach awkwardly admitted that she could care less, and reached for the letter again. This time, Toadia let her have it, rushing out of the room, soon after, "Thank you..."

The princess opened the letter, and, sure enough, Toadia was right. The text read as follows:

**_Dear Princess Peach,_**

**_I would like to invite you and your friends, Mario, Luigi, and Daisy, to my mansion to celebrate the New Year. This get-together will take place on New Years Eve, at seven o'clock. You have all done so much for me, and I would like to repay you as best as I can with this invitation. I won't take no for an answer._**

**_Your friend,_**

**_Countess Choco_**

Peach nodded a satisfied nod. She figured that the letter would involve some kind of party or get-together. She just wasn't quite sure what it would have been for, exactly. Somehow it slipped her mind that it was going to be New Years Eve in four days. It was almost as though she had completely lost her sense of time, which was very un-princess like.

Peach reached to her right, grabbing the phone and holding it in front of her. She then dialed Mario's home phone number, hardly even having to look down at the numbers. Obviously you get used to dialing a specific number when you call the same person ten times a day...

"Hello?" Mario answered the phone, quite sure that it was Peach calling him, like normal.

"Mario? It's Peach...did you get a letter, by any chance?"

"No...from who?"

"From Countess Choco. Apparently she's inviting us to a New Years get together on the 31st at seven. She's inviting us all...you, me, your brother, and even Daisy..."

"Oh, really?" Mario sounded quite surprised. It shouldn't had been much of a surprise though, considering Mario had saved the Countess's life more than once. And even the other three played significant roles in her life.

"Yeah...is that a problem?"

Mario shook his head and answered, "Of course not...but look Peach, I have to go, alright?" He heard Peach murmur some words of departure, and then hang up. He did the same...

"Princess?" Toadbert suddenly appeared, making Peach jump at the sound of his voice, "Toadia told me about the letter...are you going?"

"Yes, of course..." Peach said quietly, quite unsure why he had been asking her that question. Something seemed fishy...but she couldn't just place what was so fishy...

"Alright, let me mark that you'll be busy, then. And I'll tell all the others, okay?" Peach nodded, suddenly figuring out the answer to her previous thoughts. But it still seemed odd that Toadbert was the one to take that role in announcing it and filling in the date on her calendar.

That night, Peach found herself falling quickly asleep, dreaming peacefully about what the following days would bring...

* * *

The day afterwards, Countess Choco found herself examining her mansion for anything out of place or dirty. Sure, it was a bit early to be cleaning for the get-together, but a lot of people would be coming, and she wanted to make sure everything was perfect. And besides, she was a Countess, who wanted to present herself as best as possible...

"Countess..." The butler entered the sitting room, where he found her rearranging the furniture as thought she only had a few hours to set up, "I don't understand why you are working so early. Either way, why are you working at all? The maids and I can surely keep this place tidy until New Years Eve..."

"But still...I want to look presentable,"

"And you will," The butler said, shaking his head at her persistent behavior. She seemed awfully serious when it came to presenting herself in front of many people. But he still didn't like how she was doing all the work, "Just let us do it..."

"Where's my husband?" She suddenly said, changing the subject entirely. This caught the butler off-guard, who found himself stuttering with his words and admitting that he truly didn't know, "Well when you find him, send him to me. We have some private matters to discuss..."

"Of course..." He replied quietly, waiting a moment, and then exiting the room. He continued to shake his head in disagreement of the Countess's desire to work.

* * *

Back in the Mushroom Kingdom, the following morning, both Mario and Luigi found themselves boarding Daisy's private jet to go to Sarasaland to pay a visit...and to pick her up for the get-together.

"I still don't get why you need me to come with you..." Mario said as the two waited patiently on the plane before take-off. The red-capped plumber found himself wondering why Luigi needed him to pick up Daisy.

"I just want company. It would be lonely, you know?" Mario felt like retaliating, but instead, nodded and murmured words of agreement. Deep down, he didn't agree with Luigi one bit. Besides, he could use Daisy as company.

"But anyway..." Mario began, looking at his brother, who was sitting next to him and tightly gripping the arm rests on the chair. By the look of it, Luigi was stupidly frightened of flying in a plane, "What do you make of Countess Choco inviting us?"

"What do you mean 'what do I make'? I make or feel nothing out of the ordinary from it. It's not like this is some weird mystery, where every little detail like this could pose as a clue..." Luigi stated, still holding on for dear life. He watched as his brother reclined his chair slightly, and then continued speaking, "Why, what do you make of it?"

"Nothing, really. I was just trying to hold conversation..." He admitted, watching as his brother nervously reached down to pick up a magazine he had brought with him that he accidentally knocked on the floor. By the way he tried to reach for it, nervously and quickly, it looked as though he thought that if he didn't hold on with two hands, he would fall out of the plane. Poor, poor Luigi...

"So..." He said, once he recovered from that death-defying reach for his magazine, "You said we'd stay a night at her castle?"

Mario nodded, "At least that's what Daisy told me. And anyways, it would be nice to get a chance to relax a bit before taking the flight back home, you know?"

He heard his brother mumble something in agreement, "We're moving..." Luigi suddenly noticed, watching as they ever-so-slowly inched their way down the runway before they began to pick up speed. Mario couldn't help but to chuckle at Luigi's intense fear of flying in a plane...

* * *

That same morning, Peach was in her castle, moving about lazily. She felt very lonely, despite the fact that she had dozens of servants also with her in the castle. Peach felt that whenever Mario went away on some trip...and she hated it.

The princess's eyes widened as she picked up a copy of the Mushroom Times. Rapidly, her mind drifted onto this new subject, ignoring her loneliness, for once. She stared at the front page of the newspaper, rereading the title of the top story, just to ensure that she wasn't imagining things. But she wasn't. What she was reading was real, and she wanted to learn more. Immediately, she flipped over the page and began to read the text with a rush:

_Double Murder at the Choco Mansion_

_Yesterday, December 28, Count Choco found a rather unpleasant surprise in his front yard. What he saw was 'indescribable', as the Count put it._

_As he was beginning to leave the mansion for a nighttime stroll, the Count stumbled upon two dead bodies in his front yard. He, and everyone else in the household, recognized both._

_The first was Toodletta, 28, one of the many maids in the Count's mansion. The second was Bom-ba, 34, the Count's head of the household. Both were found shot, yet no one in the mansion appeared to have heard the shots._

_The two bodies lie only within thirty feet of each other, posing as a rather 'insignificant clue' for the police. If anyone has any information pertaining to the matter, please do not hesitate to reveal it to the authorities._

_Writer-_

_Goombelle Goombly_

Peach twitched nervously as she lie the paper down on the coffee table in front of her. From somewhere, she recognized the writer's name, but couldn't quite place where she had heard it. But that did not matter. The real matter was that there were two dead bodies in front of the mansion that she would be going to in only two days.

What surprised Peach even more was the name Toodletta. She and Peach were good friends from college, and still were thought of as best friends. They were very close to each other...and now...one of them was dead.

Peach felt a tear run down her eye. Why did it have to be her?! There were twenty other maids that could have faced an unfortunate death! But why her...?

And now, would they even be going to the get-together with the Countess? Or would the whole thing be called off after all that? This made her wonder if Mario and Luigi knew about this...if not, then there would be no reason for them to pick up Daisy, unless the Countess still planned to go through with the get-together. But still, they should at least know...

* * *

"Scarlet?" The Count called from outside a locked door, "Come out! Please!" Silence...and then the sound of the Countess blowing her nose in a tissue...and then the sound of continual weeping, "Honey...?"

"I-I'm here..." A trembling voice called, followed by another loud nose-blowing session. By the sound of it, the Countess was reacting as though she had just been told that her nonexistent children had been killed..., "Wh-what do you want...?"

"I'd just like to see you and talk this over..." Came the quick reply. The Countess seemed to have ignored this however, due to another nose-blow that most likely drowned out her husband's voice.

"What's going on?" The butler suddenly appeared.

"Oh...you know..." The Count said, even though he clearly did not know..., "It's about...Toodletta and Bom-ba..."

"Oh..." The butler nodded, realizing he should have figured that out on his own. Why else would she be going through boxes of Kleenex and sobbing like there was no tomorrow?

"Wh-Who's out there?" The Countess called, listening to a faint conversation between two people behind the door. Despite her tragic state of mind, she seemed awfully curious...

"It's the butler, honey. He says he wants you to come out..." Her husband called back. He heard as she gasped one final sob and thankfully opened the door. She looked terrible.

"Countess..." The butler began, but was silenced by the wave of her hand. The two men watched as she silently disappeared down the hall to complete some business of her own...

* * *

That very evening, Mario and Luigi found themselves being greeted by

an excited an overjoyed Daisy, "Welcome! Come on in! Please! Please! You hardly come down here anymore...it must seem very different here?"

"Nah, not really..." Mario admitted, despite the fact that she was probably right. But it wasn't like they had a chance to explore town yet, or anything. All they did was land a plane and a quarter mile to Daisy's castle.

"Oh, well then you have to see the town square! You'd be so surprised with all the what-not they added to it!" She seemed awfully jumpy and talkative today. It seemed as though she just got back from a big coffee break.

"Town square? Wasn't it already pretty...new?" Mario asked.

"If you mean new as in expensive, then yes. But now, oh man, it's got this huge nightclub they added. And a casino. And, oh, it's just so bright there, you know?" Daisy was flinging things at them left and right, forcing both of them to exchange curious glances as she ranted and raved about the square.

"Restaurants?" Mario couldn't help but to ask, suddenly realizing how hungry he really was. This made Daisy jump with excitement and nod her head.

"Uh huh...big and fancy ones, too," This obviously was to Mario's liking. As any living thing that saw him could have guessed, Mario liked his food...especially pasta. He always said that his version of paradise was to be relaxing comfortably while eating a huge plate of pasta smothered with Alfredo sauce.

"Well that's good..." Mario said, trying to hold back his immense desire to drive over there right now and sit in a comfy booth while eating some spaghetti, "We're leaving tomorrow...why don't we go over their tonight?"

"Sure," Luigi said, somehow not putting Mario's 'are there restaurants', Daisy's 'yes', and Mario's 'let's go' together. That was unlike him. Generally he noticed a lot of minor details that most would miss, "Sounds like fun..."

* * *

"Pick up the phone!" Peach screamed at absolutely no one as she angrily paced around her bedroom. At that very moment, she was in the process of trying to call both Mario's and Luigi's cell phones, obviously unsuccessfully...

It was nearly the tenth time that hour she tried calling either of the them. But if worse came to worse, she could simply call Daisy, which would have posed as the more quick, less stressful way...

RING...RING...RING...RING...

"This is princess Daisy of Sarasaland. I cannot come to the phone right now, but I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Please leave a message after the beep..."

BEEP!

"Daisy? It's Peach...I've something important to tell you. Please call me back as soon as possible..." And with that, Peach hung up the phone, taking a relaxing lounge on her comfy chair. She sat there, staring awkwardly at the phone, almost as if waiting for Daisy to call back so soon.

"Peach?" Toadia appeared in the room unexpectedly. This made the princess uninterestedly look up at the fidgeting Toadette that stood before her. By the look on her face, Peach concluded that she had some unfortunate news to tell her..., "I've received an urgent message from some reporter that would like to meet with you..."

"Meet with me?" Somehow this sounded very fishy to the princess. There was just so...little information. For all Peach knew, this so-called 'reporter' would take her into some dark alleyway and stab her to death..., "Any other information?"

"What do you mean...?"

"Don't you have a name? Or at least where to meet? And when?"

"Oh, yes!" Toadia jumped up, surprising the princess. Obviously she had said something that Toadia found to her liking. Or at least that's what it seemed like..., "At the Mushroom Diner, as soon as possible..."

Peach nodded, but didn't speak. The situation sounded a little less fishy, but she could tell something was up. And she planned to find out what...

* * *

"Tell me..." Daisy said as they drove around town square, "Whaddaya think?" She couldn't help but to point out all of the new sights and buildings before they got a chance to answer.

"This is really nice..." Mario admired, looking out the window at hundreds of people who were busily running about the square to different buildings and stores. They had everything there...from stores, to theaters, to nightclubs...it was like they picked up a piece of Hollywood and just dropped it there..., "Look at that!"

The other two watched as he pointed to a large restaurant that proudly stood between two small stores, engulfing people one-by-one as they entered into its dark interior. The whole building, itself, looked as though it was enough to suit a king.

"I think I know where Mario wants to eat..." Luigi joked, watching as Daisy pulled the car into a large parking-lot that was dedicated solely for those who wanted to explore the town square, "And was that one building on the end a theater? Like, for actual plays?"

"Uh huh. I go there all the time. It's really nice..." She said, pulling into one of the few empty spaces. After she turned the car off, the trio waited for a quick moment, and then stepped excitedly onto the pavement. They couldn't help but to wonder what the following hours would bring...

* * *

Peach was getting out of her car in the diner's parking lot. She feared what this meeting would be about. And when it involved meeting with reporters...then she assumed that they had some questions to ask her...unfortunately...

As she entered through the door, her eyes fell on a specific person, at a specific table. No, this definitely wasn't good...if anything, it was Peach's equivalent to getting shot in the head...

"What do you want?" Peach asked harshly, not even bothering to sit down. She figured that the reporter would get about two words out of their mouth before Peach slapped them and walked out...

"Please...don't show such anger without even knowing why I brought you here...princess..." The reporter said, acting as though they were talking to anybody at all. But this was a princess they were talking to...what kind of brat would talk to a princess that way...?

The Goomba girl. Yes, the very reporter ho had once - and still was - an extreme rival of Peach's. The one who called her an attention-seeker. The one who nearly put her into tears in front of over fifty people. Yes, it was her...and Peach wasn't happy...

"Just tell me what you want," Speaking in such a tone made her think of the hopeful moment when she actually stood up to this manipulative brat. Apparently this reporter never learned her lesson. Peach was vulnerable, yes. But when she gets mad...the vulnerable one is you...

"Sit down, please..." Peach reluctantly did so, giving her a penetrating death stare that the Goomba girl tried to ignore. She remembered that look. It was the look Peach had given her while she was turning the table and embarrassing the Goomba girl unexpectedly, "I want you here for two things..."

Peach wanted two things, too: To slap the Goomba girl, and waste no more time talking to this sad excuse for a living being...

* * *

"We will meet with Peach in two days," Countess Choco said, pointing an accusing finger at her husband, who spoke no words, for fear that she would go ballistic on him. She was definitely that kind of moody person..., "So don't try and talk me out of it!"

"Dear, I'm not..."

"Yes you are! I can tell! Just by the way you go about talking to me and everything. It's like you want to push this off!" She yelled, clearly failing at trying to hold in her anger. Not only was she moody, but at times, she definitely needed some anger management classes...

"Sylvia, I swear; I'm not trying to do that!" He said in response, trying his harding to sound intimidating and, at the same time, try and cool off his wife's anger. It was clear to him that this might not be as easy as he expected...

"I still don't believe you...but there's no point about going on and fighting about it. Let me just make this clear: we will have the get-together..."

Her husband spoke no more, but simply nodded. He wasn't entirely sure if he agreed with his wife's opinions, but nonetheless, he knew he better not try and argue with her. With New Years Eve only two nights away, they had much more important things to do than complain to each other...

* * *

"First off...tell me everything you know about the murders at the Count's mansion..." The Goomba girl said, almost as though this were any old interview. Not only did this annoy Peach, but getting up and leaving ran through her mind many times.

"What do you mean, 'everything I know'? It's not like I was there..." '

"Well...can you describe your friend for me? Why would she have been shot?" She asked. Peach glanced at her almost as though she had two heads, or something. The look made the smile on the reporter's face slowly disappear.

"Why would she have been shot? How am I supposed to know?! Uhh, it's called, be in the line of fire and get hit with a bullet..." Peach stated the obvious, making the Goomba girl look at her stupidly.

"Peach, don't play dumb with me. Did she have any rivals that would be willing to shoot her? Did she do anything to make anyone angry?"

"No," Peach said blankly, watching as the Goomba girl shook her head, dissatisfied. The princess was obviously not exactly being competent toward the Goomba's questions. If anything, she was purposely playing dumb to waste time and to get on her nerves.

"You apparently don't want to be a good girl..." She replied, acting as though she as the mother and Peach was her disobedient child, "I thought maybe you'd be willing to give me some information, but I guess not. So onto step two..."

"What's step two?"

"I know who the murderer is..." The reporter said. By the expression on Peach's face, one might suspect her flesh might just melt away out of sheer surprise. She knew who the murderer was?! But...how?

"Well then why did you need to get information from me?!" Peach practically yelled, making some of the nearby customers look at her awkwardly. Some even found themselves engaging in surprised conversations that the princess would raise her voice in such a tone.

"Because...I need all the information I can get so I can make myself look good. But you just won't listen..." She said, giving Peach a death glare of her own, "I have a proposition to make you, princess. I'll give you all the information I know...for a fee. It'll make you look good, and you'll be respected from here to Chocolate Mountain for solving this mystery..."

"Don't even tell me the price. I'm not buying..." Peach said firmly. This Goomba girl was really something...not only as she a little brat, but she craved money, "I'll tell the police about this..."

"Do it..." She said, tempting Peach n an awkward way, "But then I'm sure the Mushroom Kingdom would love to hear about how the great princess Peach ignored her best friend's mystery, hmm? And didn't you always tell that dead Toadette that you would do anything for her?"

Peach shrieked. How did she know that Peach would always say that? This Goomba girl obviously did her homework before confronting Peach with this, "How..."

"I'd love to read that on the newspapers. 'Princess Peach leaves her best friend's mystery unsolved'. Sounds catchy, doesn't it? You go to the police, and I'll make sure your life becomes miserable. Don't worry, saying that won't be the only way I'd ruin your reputation..."

Peach backed away in her chair, wanting to run right out of the diner at that very moment. But some unknown force made her stay...and it was beginning to make her wonder if she truly feared this Goomba girl..., "Fine. I-I won't go to the police. But I'm absolutely not buying..."

"Very well...I'm sure the world would love to know how amazing I am, anyway..."

* * *

Mario, Luigi, and Daisy found themselves, in awe, sitting in one of the many rows in the theater Luigi had pointed out earlier. As of yet, the play was fantastic, holding each of their attention to the extreme.

"This is good..." Mario leaned over nonchalantly, trying not to disturb any other spectators. He was speaking to Daisy, although Luigi, too, had heard him, and answered with his own murmurs of agreement.

"Yeah it is...I don't know why I never came to see this sooner..." Daisy replied. Mario simply nodded his head and smiled, drawing his attention back to the grand production he was viewing on stage. He hadn't realized how much, until now, he enjoyed drama. It was like a whole other side to him that he never knew had existed...

Daisy suddenly heard her cell phone start buzzing in her purse. Groaning angrily as she picked it up, Daisy began fishing around her massive bag for her phone. Once in her hand, she stood up quickly, disturbing other guests, who simply looked around her in order to see the fantastic play.

For a brief moment, Daisy looked down at her phone, recognizing that it was her castle home phone calling her. She pushed her way uncomfortably through the aisle, wasting no time before she hurriedly walked to the nearest exit.

She found herself in a dark hallway, the very hallway in which hundreds of excited guests walked through in order to get into the auditorium. At the moment, Daisy felt very lonely. Beside the janitor and the occasional guests that entered the hallway to use the restroom, the area was utterly deserted.

"Hello?" Daisy asked, answering her phone as quickly as possible, for fear that she would miss the call. Not that she would really care anyway, considering there was a million dollar performance going on in the adjacent room...

"We received a call from Peach a few hours ago. She said that...well, you should probably just call her yourself. She left no details, but seemed urgent. You better call her...something could be wrong..." A voice said on the other line. Daisy recognized her as one of her most trustworthy servants, ShyGirl.

"Alright...I guess I will..." Daisy mumbled, clearly annoyed. Not only was she missing the show, but she had just been urgently called, only so they could tell her to call someone else...how annoying..., "Bye,"

The princess immediately did as she was told, realizing that ShyGirl might be correct. If there was something seriously wrong with her best friend, no performance would turn her away from helping out. Dialing Peach's number as though she were on steroids, Daisy lifted the phone to her ear, eager to speak with her friend.

But there was no answer. Little did Daisy know, Peach was in the middle of discussing an important matter with one of her most despised enemies...

* * *

"Think about it, Peach. What would it do to your reputation? Solving a friend's murder would boost you to the top of the popularity charts..." The Goomba girl said. Peach wanted to brag and claim that she most likely was already at the top of the charts, but she restrained herself. In a way, the Goomba was right...but it wouldn't change her opinion of paying someone like that for answers...

"I don't care. I'm not paying you anything," The princess said firmly, hoping to scare away the girl with the tone of her voice. But it obviously didn't...

"Peach...I'll give you three days to think about it. And you can expect a call from me tomorrow..." The reporter said, in an annoyed tone. Such an annoyed expression on the girl's face surprised Peach; usually she didn't succumb to frustration as easily as this...

"Don't give me three days. Don't give me any time at all..." But she was already gone, leaving Peach to sit by herself in the diner. This gave her a moment to think. If the Goomba girl really knew the solution to the case, then Peach figured there would be no need to pay her off. As long as the real criminal was arrested, Peach would be happy...

* * *

The following morning seemed to come by quickly. With Mario, Luigi, and Daisy enjoying the play, and Peach simply thinking over what she and the Goomba girl had said, the night rushed by.

Not only that, but Peach also received an unsuspected call from the Countess, who explained to her that the get-together would still be going on that night. Daisy found this out, too, and ordered her pilot to schedule an early trip to the Mushroom Kingdom.

At that very moment, Peach was sipping some coffee, Mario was sleeping on the plane, along with his brother, and Daisy was reading a fashion magazine. She would have preferred a lively conversation between the three, but with such an early rise, the Mario brothers needed their sleep...maybe she needed hers, too?

Daisy ignored the thought of sleeping. She wasn't even really that tired, anyway. All of the last minute checks she made in her castle drew all of the tiredness right out of her. She wasn't even yawning.

For some reason, the whole trip seemed to just be...out of place. Daisy was sensing a strange feeling that something very out of the ordinary was going to happen, and it scared her. Sure, she wasn't a fortune teller, but she could tell when she wasn't feeling right...

It was a nervous kind of feeling, but also a scared kind of feeling. One might suspect she were watching a horror movie by the way she felt. It wasn't normal, and Daisy knew it. Maybe she should be getting some sleep, after all...

* * *

Peach wasn't feeling strange at all, and she definitely wasn't predicting the future. Instead, she found herself thinking over the Goomba girl's offer. She wouldn't accept it, of course, but something fishy was obviously going on...

What if it was all a lie? Could the Goomba girl be trying to lure her into a trap? She's definitely known for manipulating things. Such thoughts reminded Peach of when the two of them used to be battling it out in the front of the castle. Peach remembered those times vividly; she remembered looking out to see an army of reporters, waiting to hear what she had to say. And she, of course, remembered that the Goomba girl was always in front, ready to make her strike as though she were lion and Peach were the prey.

It was obvious the girl was manipulative, but Peach would never think that she would sink this low as to try ruining Peach's reputation after not being paid off. And it frightened Peach to think that the girl had numerous reasons that could ruin her. It wasn't like Peach killed anybody, or even attacked somebody, so what did she do that would disappoint thousands of people? She wasn't a criminal, and the most dangerous thing she ever did was probably light a Sparkler off on the Fourth of July...

In the midst of Peach's deep thinking, Toadsworth walked in the room and interrupted, "Princess...you are to arrive at the Countess's house by seven. I would prefer it if you made it by six forty-five. With the highway and the windy roads, it will take at least an hour to get there. We should have you out the door by five thirty..."

"Yes...okay..." Peach said awkwardly. She wasn't entirely sure why Toadsworth had to be telling her this...

"It's ten in the morning. Do you have your outfit picked out? You don't have much time..."

"Don't worry, I have plenty of time. And besides, I do have my outfit picked out..." Peach had always been the unprincess-like kind of person. She never seemed to worry about time, and she generally didn't need to go out each and every night looking like she was a multi-billion dollar celebrity. But tonight, she would...

* * *

It was five o'clock. Mario, Luigi, and Daisy had arrived by around noon. Daisy got herself a hotel room, and the four spent a few hours together before disappearing to their respected houses to get into their very best outfits.

"Daisy?" Mario knocked on the door of her hotel room, listening to the nothingness that came from the other side. But then he heard her voice, turning to his brother as she spoke, almost as though it was him who as talking...

"I'll be out in a moment..." Then they heard some shuffling around on the other side of the door. And a few seconds later, her voice returned, "Alright, open up. How do I look?"

Mario opened the door, looking at the amazingly attractive Daisy that stood by her bed in a stance that a fashion model would use. Both of the shocked brothers would have been surprised if they heard an offstage 'hot girl' whistle.

"You look beautiful, Daisy..." Luigi said, admiring not only her attire, but other details, like her hair and face. She looked as though she had been preparing for this night for months...

"Thank you," She said, blushing a little bit, "But don't you think the dress could be a little darker? I mean, it doesn't really go-,"

"Daisy..." Luigi interrupted with a raise of his hand, "You look fine..." She was definitely the type to overreact about the tiniest detail. Once, she chose not to eat a single brownie for fear that she would gain weight. She worried too much.

"Ready?" Mario asked, watching as the other two nodded. And as they all got in Mario's car to arrive at Peach's castle, they didn't know what to expect in the hours to come...and if Daisy's nervous suspicions were right, tonight might not go as well as they suspected...

**END OF ACT 1**

* * *

Hmmm...curious as to what happens next? Wait a few more days, and ACT 2 will be out and ready to be read!


	2. The Get Together

Sorry for the extremely long wait for this act, but not long after the first act, I found myself writing four fan fictions at once. So this one was put aside for awhile. But then I came to realize that this was my favorite of the four, so this will be the main priority now. And don't worry, I'm not going to update every 40 days. I'll try and get each act in within 5-15 days, depending on the length and how interested I am in writing. So until Act 3, I'll leave you with this...  


* * *

**Act 2-The Get-Together**

Although the hour long trip to the mansion seemed never-ending, it was interesting. All four of them managed to hold conversations that didn't end up in a series of arguments, either. So it was very pleasant...

And then came the mansion. As they drove up to such an extravagant building, they couldn't help but to shiver as they looked at it. It hugeness made it appear so looming that it almost gave you the creeps just looking at it. Or maybe it was the fact that two people were murdered in the front lawn...

But other than the mansion's weird atmosphere, the structure looked as though it was built to honor the most extraordinary person to have walked the Earth. It had brilliant lights displaying the many features in the lawn, and the driveway itself was big enough to suit a king. And even the windows showed a sense of extreme fortune and luxuriousness.

"Look at it..." Luigi muttered, directing the other three to do something they clearly were already doing. How couldn't you look at? The mansion had nineteen bedrooms that were fully furnished and occupied by the Countess's army of staff workers. Most people didn't have that many rooms in their house in total...

"It's so...big..." Daisy said, using the only adjective that came to her mind. But such a simple and overused word was definitely the way to describe it..., "Are we ready?"

The group got out of the car, which was parked amongst a line of other expensive looking vehicles. Obviously they weren't the only people who were invited to this get-together...

As they climbed the short staircase to reach the massive door, they all couldn't help but to murmur phrases of excitement and pleasure. Mario then rang the door bell, which sounded more like a dinner gong as it reverberated through the household. Apparently when you live in a seventy-four room house, it might be hard hearing a quiet, everyday doorbell...

The Countess greeted them at the door, ushering them in with a nice, warm gesture of her hands. They exchanged some quick idle chit-chat as they stepped in, stopping in a large, foyer-like room. Above them hung a large chandelier that illuminated the room to an unimaginable extent. In front of them, they were greeted by a staircase large enough to go skiing down. And around them...were rooms...

"Don't you ever get lost in here?" Daisy asked truthfully. The Countess respected her question and smiled, although curious as to why a princess who owned a castle would be asking her that. Sure Daisy owned an incredibly large property, but it wasn't nearly as spread out as the Countess's mansion. If anything, this building was more like a maze of endless rooms that even the greatest of explorers could get lost in...

"Not really..." The Countess admitted. Obviously she didn't realize how lucky she was to have a house of this size. And just by the way she said that, one might suspect they were talking about a condo with the simplest of floor plans.

With a wave of her hand, the Countess began leading the group of four to a nearby room, shut by a closed door, "My other guests have been eagerly awaiting your arrival," This made them wonder what the rest of the guests were like. Perhaps they were more wealthy aristocrats that took their spoils for granted?

As they entered through the door, all conversation stopped, and all eyes fell upon them. Some of them even mumbled some quiet words of excitement about being in the presence of the Mushroom Kingdom Hero.

"Please sit down," The Countess said politely, showing them to four unoccupied chairs, which looked unnecessarily large, yet necessarily comfy. Even a king might find them to be too extravagant..., "Let me go check on the dinner. It should be done in about fifteen minutes..."

"So your Mario..." A large Toad said from the end of the table. His voice sounded almost disappointed and as if he were greatly let down. He must have been suspect some guy who flew around the world and wore a cape with a giant 'S' on it.

"You came just in time for our conversation..." A wealthy looking Koopa said. Just by the quiet tone of his voice, Mario could sense some reluctance in the Koopa's words. It was as if he didn't want anyone outside the room to hear him...

"A conversation we shouldn't be talking about," A Toadette across from Mario muttered. She was ignored by most of the table, though, as they merely continued speaking about whatever this conversation may be.

"You're a detective, aren't you Mario?" The Toad boomed. He had the kind of voice you would hate to be listening to when you had a head-ache. Everyone's eyes fell upon Mario out of sheer curiosity for a response.

"Well, not really," Mario said modestly. Peach almost wanted to slap him for denying something that was true, "I'm just good at noticing things," She gave him one of those 'cut the crap' looks that he couldn't help but notice. He shrugged her off nonchalantly and looked back at the Toad.

"Well then..." The Koopa cut in, "Let's put your observations to the test..." He said, clearly amused by Mario, yet also interested to see whether or not this plumber really did have a knack for noticing things. But when Mario just stared at him blankly, he continued, "Who do you think is behind the...murder?" He spoke the last word with intense precautions, scanning the room first to ensure that the Countess was not present. The last thing she needed was to talk about a murder at her mansion while hosting a get-together...

"Well I don't have any facts...so I can't answer with any concrete solution," Mario explained, fascinating the others to a pathetic extent. Somehow these people were so interested in what Mario was saying. It's not like he was revealing who the murderer was to them...but when the guy who saved the Mushroom Kingdom dozens of times was speaking to you, it didn't really matter what he was saying...

"Please guys..." A different Toadette spoke up, "We really shouldn't be talking about this...the Countess was nice enough to still invite us here, so let's make the best of it, okay? Why can't you guys at least talk about sports, or something? Anything but this..."

"I suppose she's right..." The Koopa remarked, adjusting himself in the massive chair. Once he situated himself to his liking, he spoke again, "But I just feel so strange being in the house wh-,"

And then the Countess walked in, silencing the Koopa out of her sheer presence. Everyone awkwardly exchanged glances with one another, not entirely sure how to create a new conversation.

"So..." A ShyGuy said, "Umm, oh, hello Countess," He made a pitiful attempt to try and disguise the fact that he already knew she was there. But it at least broke the suspicious silence.

"The dinner is done. It should be served in the next few minutes," And with that, she sat herself at the end of the table, a pleased look on her face. It gladdened everyone to see her taking such a horrible event in her past so well. Maybe the night wasn't going to be so gloomy, after all...

* * *

Dinner was delicious and the conversation was good. With the Countess and her husband at the table, they made the night much more lively and helped keep everyone's mind off the murder. They talked about politics, exchanged views on the economy, and even managed to find conversation that everyone wasn't arguing about. It was an unexpected miracle...

"So what did you say you did again?" A friendly ShyGuy said in the middle of their conversations, directing his question to a Bob-Omb that had just finished speaking.

"Me? Real estate,"

"How is that job? I mean, compared to the detective over there..." He said, pointing at Mario. The plumber, or...detective, was about to object, but Peach stopped him. She figured he's get more respect around these people if he was known as a detective...even though he already told them he wasn't...

"Mario?" The Countess asked, "A detective?" She sounded as though she were trying to lure him into something...especially by the way she emphasized the last two words. Mario knew where this was going...

"Yeah, Mario..." The Count said, "I didn't know you were into solving murders..." Now Mario definitely knew where this was going. Not all crimes are murders, so when Count spoke that word, he knew they were indirectly trying to get him to solve the death of their two house servants.

"I...well..." Mario inarticulately mumbled, trying to find words that could answer his statement. But he realized that the Count had him pinned down, and he could do nothing about it. So he merely sighed and went back to eating his food.

"Well...?" The Countess said. The seriousness of the expression on her face was enough to melt the flesh right off of Mario's body. He tried to avoid her death glare, but couldn't help but to look up at her and answer her question.

"Well what?" He tried playing stupid with her, but he could tell she wasn't going to fall for any of that. So she merely shrugged and looked down gloomily at her soup, a disappointed expression on her face. Then she sighed..., "Alright, I'll take the case..."

The Countess immediately burst into pleased smiles, thanking Mario 'from the bottom of her heart'. It reminded Mario of something a child would do if they didn't get their way...pout and act sad until he finally gave in. How annoying...

"So...what are the details of the case?" The red-capped plumber asked, an interested expression upon his face. But it wasn't just any normal kind of expression...it the was the kind Peach recognized as Mario infamous 'there's a mystery afoot' look. Now she knew that he would not rest until this case was solved...unfortunately for the murderer...

"Well...I'll tell you about it later..." She said, showing her not-so-large desire to talk about the murder during their meal. It wasn't exactly one of those good topics of conversation, either...

But as the night continued on, the guests began to grow weary as to if they were truly interested in the case. When before dinner they couldn't keep their minds off of it, now they started to wonder if they really wanted to learn about the bloody, gory, and twisted deaths of two unfortunate victims...

* * *

Dinner seemed to fly by after that. Maybe to was because everyone was so determined to finish their food and let Mario work on the case? Or perhaps all of the talkativeness was drawn out of them at the thought of the murders? But for whatever reason it had been, it left the the final minutes of dinner in almost a complete, bone-chilling silence.

"If you would all adjourn to the ballroom for music and dessert..." The Countess said, nodding toward one of her staff members to lead the group to the ballroom, "Mario, are you sure you want to inspect the case?"

"Yes, of course,"

"But wouldn't you rather stay inside?"

Mario shook his head and sighed, acting as though he were a disappointed parent responding to a disobedient child, "I won't stay out too long. Only about a half hour or so..."

"Alright, if that's what you want..." The Countess said, giving up on trying to reason with Mario. Besides, though, it was her who was indirectly begging for him to investigate the case. She apparently got her wish, and more..., "Toadriko, can you...see Mario outside and ensure you give him everything he wants?"

"Of course..." He said, as the Countess gave Mario a satisfied wink as she disappeared out the room, "If you'll follow me, please..."

Mario found himself walking back through the rooms he had originally entered through. It was a surprisingly simple process for such a large house, "You know about the case?" Mario couldn't help but to wonder he would be speaking to a person with no prior knowledge about the murders. That would be a big disappointment in Mario's mind; when he wanted to solve a case, he was always on a mission to ensure he was provided with the best information possible...

"Yeah, I saw the situation from all angles...and I tell you, it's not pretty..." He spoke as if the dead bodies were still laying in the lawn. 'It's not pretty'? What wouldn't be pretty? The non-existent corpses?

"Oh..."

As the duo arrived outside, Mario couldn't help to get a fresh panorama of the entire area. He took mental notes on the wildest of things. The kind of things an everyday detective might not pay attention to...

"So where did it happen?"

"Over there, by the fountain," Toadriko pointed. The fountain was obviously huge, and it spewed water in every direction, creating a soothing splashing sound as it hit the water below. The pond-like area where the water fell into was illuminated with colorful lights and exotic plants to make it look even more noticeably beautiful. As the water gently cascaded from the small bowl at the top of the fountain, Mario realized that this giant masterpiece was really a sight to see, "Toodletta was killed right next to the fountain, shot in the stomach, with a gun lying a few feet away from her. Bom-ba was found about fifteen feet away in that direction, a gun partially in her hand,"

Mario nodded a curious and confused nod, "Where was Bom-ba shot?"

"Ah, about that..." Toadriko said, shifting uneasily as though Mario had said something he wished he hadn't, "Through the head...which makes-,"

"It seem like suicide," Mario finished, shutting him up without even raising the tone of his voice. He found himself intently staring at the ground as though examining something that seemed out of place, "Does everything think its suicide?"

"No one knows, really...it's just an assumption..." Mario had always hated assumptions. They twisted everything and made reality fantasy and fantasy reality. And worst of all, he never knew which ones to believe...if anything, he's rather solve a mystery from scratch rather than with the aid of a truckload of assumptions...

"And did anyone hear anything? A commotion, perhaps?"

Toadriko shook his head, "We asked all the staff. They said they heard and knew nothing about why this phenomenon could have gone on..."

Mario bit his lip and examined the area, moving quickly from spot to spot and examining every square inch of grass. Perhaps he thought he would miraculously find a clue hidden within the field of green blades that overwhelmed the first yard. Or maybe he was looking for something out of the ordinary. But when it came to examining grass, it wasn't exactly easy to tell when something was out of place, "So let's say Toodletta and Bom-ba weren't...getting along. Could it be possible that the two completely flipped out on each other about something and shot each other? Sure it sounds far-fetched, but any of my other ideas would, too,"

Toadriko rose his eyebrows. He didn't exactly think those two would be the kind to just carry around guns these days, but based on the information, it was a strangely logical solution. But still, there were a million other possibilities that could've been taken into account, "Perhaps...so you're saying that they shot each other at the same time? Or that one of them was already shot, barely alive, and shot the other in their dying breath?"

"Either of those could be possible...more or less the second one. But still, any part of this could have been staged. That's where it gets confusing..."

Toadriko couldn't help but to admire Mario and his quick sleuthing. He talked as though he were the Sherlock Holmes of the present, describing every little situation and possibility with exact preciseness.

"So did we run fingerprint tests on the guns? Are we sure that these two were the ones who were actually holding the guns?"

Toadriko nodded, "Yeah, the police did that. They said Toodletta was holding one, and Bom-ba the other. It fits perfectly, does it not? Assuming that these two murdered each other?"

Mario shrugged, an unsure expression on his face. Toadriko could tell that this 'plumber' was going to find some way to prove him wrong, and find even the tiniest of exception, "Like I said before, it could be staged. Anyone can just wipe away their fingerprints and put it in the hands of another person,"

Toadriko realized he was stupid for not realizing that. Or perhaps he was just too mesmerized by Mario's work to think of a simple concept such as that. But whatever Mario was doing, it was intriguing, and he couldn't help to fall into this weird hypnotic trance. And to make it even better, he had the front-row seat to watching a great detective solve a mind-bending mystery...

* * *

Inside, the guests were getting escorted into ballroom, where delicious desserts and calming music was being played. It was the perfect atmosphere for some high school prom.

"Don't you just love how my brother ditches us on New Years Eve to go work on a case that he can solve any day?" Luigi asked to Daisy, who didn't even look at him as she made her response. He felt slightly taken aback, surprised as to why she showed such unresponsiveness towards him. Maybe she just didn't want to look at him. Or perhaps she was angry at something he had said. But what was so bad about trying to somehow find a flaw in Mario's perfect reputation.

"He's gotta do it. If he waited any longer, the murderer could have fled the town and move to any entirely different continent. And after that, who would know if they would ever find the real killer..."

He wanted to agree with her, not only to restrain himself from any arguments, but for the pure fact that she was probably right. But he hated to say it, mainly because that would mean that he would have to be defending Mario in a situation where he really didn't want to, "Yeah...I guess..."

"Hungry for dessert?" Daisy asked.

Luigi shook his head, holding his stomach as though he were going through some severe abdominal pain, "I'm so full. I shouldn't have eaten as much as I did..."

"I guess you're right. And besides, desserts can be fattening. That's the last thing a princess needs," She shuddered at the thought of her being unpleasantly overweight. She was always known to have the perfect body, and stuffing her face with pastries and cakes weren't going to help.

"Oh, please..." Luigi muttered, "A brownie or two isn't going to make you gain thirty pounds. Don't be afraid to eat something you like, for a change. I do it all the time..."

Daisy reluctantly nodded her head, but she still didn't go over to get any dessert. And if Luigi wanted her to, she'd just feed him the 'i'm full' line, as he did. But even so, the fudge covered brownies that were disappearing by the second did look appetizing..., "Huh...where's Peach?"

"I think she said she was going to the bathroom. The Countess will probably have to lead her through about a million rooms just to get her there. And I'm sure Peach will have a hard time navigating back..." Luigi muttered, still complaining about the unnecessary size of the extravagant building.

Daisy couldn't help but to smile at Luigi's comment. He was right, though. Peach would practically need a detailed map and a compass to find her way back.

* * *

Peach found herself gently closing the bathroom door, exiting out into a large sitting room. As she (with much difficulty) tried to get back to the ballroom without making a fool of herself, she could hear her cell phone go buzzing in her pocket. She groaned and took it out. Sure she didn't want to carry her cell phone around and take calls 24/7, but when you're a princess, you need to. Who knows what kind of important information they caller could have? For all she knew, she was going to be told that terrorists had planted a bomb in her castle and threatened to detonate it. Those were the kind of things you'd want to have your cell phone handy to hear, "Hello?"

"Princess?" Someone asked on the other line. It was definitely a female, and the voice sounded vaguely familiar, "This is Goombelle Goombly..."

In other words, it was the annoying Goomba girl that could never shut up and realize that she was unwanted in this world, "How...how did you get this number?"

Peach could hear a laugh at the other end of the line. It sounded as though she were outrageously making fun of something Peach had said. But as far as she knew, asking her how she got a cell phone number wasn't exactly a knee-slapper.

"Oh, princess. It's easy just to call your castle and ask whoever it is that picks up. And besides, I told them that it was an important matter and that I was the person who called before..."

Peach rolled her eyes. Whoever stupidly gave this brat her cell phone number might get strangled when she got home. Not only would she have to deal with the Goomba girl at her house, but now, when she finally gets a moment to herself, the girl is there, ready to annoy. It's like she's some kind of Energizer Bunny that just doesn't know when to stop, "Well fine. What do you want?"

"Peach, you have two days left to agree to the offer...and I want to cut you a deal..." Goombelle said. Something in her tone of voice sounded very peculiar and strangely untrustworthy, "So how about we lower the price a little bit...?"

"No," Peach groaned, "Don't bother. Don't you get that I'm not buying? N-O! That means no. Can't you understand that for a change?" She had the most evil-looking glare on her face in the history of princesses. It was like she was some deranged serial killer, or something. She had almost wished the Goomba girl was there to witness the painfulness of Peach's death glare, "Good-bye,"

"Wait..." Goombelle interrupted quickly, before Peach had a chance to hang up, "We have to discuss this matter further. And believe me, I won't take 'no' for an answer..."

* * *

Mario was outside, carefully examining the scene. There wasn't really much to look at, besides a never-ending field of grass and a couple of bushes and fountains, "These lights..." Mario said, pointing to lights on the ground that lined up either side of the walkway to get into the mansion, "Were they on at the time of the murder?"

"I don't think so...it was pretty late at night though, so we might have turned them off...does that mean anything?" Toadriko couldn't help but to wonder. He had a feeling, though, that somehow, it did mean something...

Mario nodded, "Let's say that there's a murderer that shot these both, alright? I'd think that the murderer would want to turn these lights off to hide himself more in the darkness of the night. If the lights were on, however, it might have been a spur of the moment thing that the two shot each other..."

Toadriko nodded reluctantly. Sure what Mario said wasn't written in stone, but it made sense. But to his dismay, he couldn't say for certain whether or not the lights were on, or not. Really, though, when you just heard gunshots and you see to dead bodies on the ground, the last this you're worried about is where the walkway lights are on or not. And besides, perhaps the lights were turned on by one of the staff as he got outside so the onlookers could see the dead bodies easier. It doesn't mean that they were always on, but simply turned on for the use of the bright lights that would make everything much more visible, "I guess that makes sense..."

"One thing I don't get, though..." Mario muttered under his breathe, displeased to announce that something was confusing him. He always liked to be the person with answers. Not the person to be standing there stupidly with a dumb expression on their face, "The newspaper article said that it was the Count who stumbled upon the bodies before his nighttime walk. Therefore, the finding of the bodies was accidental. Wouldn't you guys have heard the shots from inside?"

Toadriko stood there, dumbstruck. He was right. Even though the mansion was the size of a mall, they still should have heard the shots being fired, "Perhaps...silencers?"

"Probably. I just found that interesting, though. So now I can assume that this was staged. Unless, both Toodletta and Bom-ba brought silencers to a gunfight. But that sounds a bit fishy. It makes much more sense that someone staged the shootings and used silencers so no one could hear,"

Toadriko looked even more dumbstruck than he was before. He had the kind of expression on his face that someone would have when they had just been told that they had won ten million dollars, "Wow...I-I think you're right...but then...who shot them?"

* * *

"A princess isn't to be having a conversation with people like you..." Peach spat into the phone, her face slowly becoming redder and her tone of voice angrier. She looked and sounded like an angry volcano as it was about to erupt, "And don't you dare insult Mario like that!"

"Well it's true. I mean, only pros such as me could find answers as such. And I can give you those answers for a small, small price, you know..." She said, trying to tempt Peach. But if that was her best try, then she was definitely getting nowhere, and was only wasting her own and Peach's time.

"Stop it, Goombelle. Just stop it," And with that, she hung up, slamming her phone shut as though she were trying to break it in half with her bare hands. But with Peach's anger level skyrocketing as it was, she was quite surprised she didn't break it...

* * *

The Countess found herself scanning the room, watching with joy as her guests moved about, talking with one another, and having a great time. She realized that this was in the making to be a great party, "So Luigi and Daisy, have you seen Peach? She's been gone for nearly fifteen minutes now?"

Luigi and Daisy exchanged awkward glances as Luigi found himself being the first to speak up, "Maybe she got lost..." He meant it to be a joke, but it was probably true. Unless they had one of those maps with the 'you are here' symbol in every room, it would be pretty easy to get lost.

"Hmm...perhaps, I'll go search for her..." And with that, the Countess disappeared out the room. This left Luigi and Daisy standing awkwardly, at a strange loss of words.

"You know you shouldn't have said that..." Daisy lectured, probably referring to Luigi's 'lost' comment. Aw, it wasn't like he was offending the Countess, or anything. He was only speaking the truth. So now something was apparently wrong with actually telling the truth? Geez, these days you can never make anyone happy...

"Oh please...it's not like I told her she was fat, or anything,"

"Luigi!" Daisy scolded, completely surprised that he would even say anything like that. He apparently had some different personality for offending people that he was just revealing for the first time.

"What?! I'm not saying that that's what she is, either!"

"Well, still, you shouldn't have said it at all..." And then everything became quiet. Well, not everything. The calming music was being played and there was endless chit chat going on between the guests. But when it came to Luigi and Daisy, there was anything but noise. They both felt very uncomfortable standing next to each other, all of a sudden. But Luigi knew he could trust Daisy to get overwhelmed with the quietness and not help but to talk.

* * *

The Countess met up with Peach in the sitting room. She found the princess still cooling down from the unpleasant conversation with the Goomba girl. It almost frightened her to see Peach acting so...different. But she refrained from any 'what's wrong' remarks and simply invited her back into the ballroom for some 'fattening' dessert.

As the two began navigating through the rooms, Peach couldn't help but to strike up a conversation in the midst of her anger. Somehow, simply talking was relieving her stress. It let her get some of her feelings out, instead of keep it all inside her. And if she did that, you'd definitely want to avoid coming in contact with her for the next few days..., "Don't you just hate it when people try to screw with your life about things that aren't true?"

The Countess glanced over at Peach awkwardly. She was clearly at a loss of words. And by the way Peach was speaking, she could definitely tell something wasn't right...and it was beginning to scare her..., "Well, I..." But she didn't finish. Not because she didn't want to finish what she was going to say, but because she didn't know what she was going to say. Peach was speaking about a weird situation, and the Countess couldn't really give her any advise on the matter.

"It just makes be so mad...should a princess have this much stress?"

The Countess wanted to say that a princess certainly should have that much stress. After all, they are in charge of leading an entire kingdom filled with injustice and chaos. But she didn't tell her that. She didn't tell her anything, actually. She felt as though she were being used as some psychiatrist...unfortunately, she never had any experience with psychiatric work...

"I mean, I'm a princess. I shouldn't have to deal with these kinds of things..." Peach held her head as though she had a head-ache, even though she didn't. This was definitely one of those 'spare the theatrics' kind of moments...

"Umm, what kind of things are you talking about?" The Countess couldn't help but to wonder what on Earth Peach was ranting and raving about. For all she knew, Peach was being accused of murder...

The princess sighed and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I'm just having a rough night..." And with that, the two entered back into the ballroom, both of them curious about the progress of the great Detective Mario.

* * *

"Is that all the information you have?" Mario asked Toadriko, who nodded in a dissatisfied manner. Sure Mario was making breakthrough after breakthrough with the case, but he would have liked to be a bit more useful when it came to revealing the information. Besides, he wasn't doing any work, so he might as well try and help out the person who is doing the work to his fullest extent, "Then were just about done here. If I have any more questions, though, I'll be sure to ask,"

"Of course..." Toadriko coughed, leading Mario through the yard and back into the house. He was pleased to know that such an enormous amount of information had been revealed, regarding the case, "Let me escort you to the ballroom..."

Mario followed Toadriko through a few rooms until they met up with the remaining guests. He got a good look at them, wondering if, by chance, he was standing near the true murderer. Such a thought gave him the creeps...

"So what'd you learn?" Daisy asked him as soon as he entered the room.

Mario maneuvered towards her, spotting Luigi and Peach a few feet away, making some idle chit-chat to keep them occupied, "A lot. Really, I did. And I'm surprised. But I must say, this case will much tougher than I suspected at first. All we can do is hope that I'm on the right track..."

"So are you gonna be doing any more investigating tonight?" Luigi interrupted Peach from talking about the purse she saw in the mall last Thurdsay, which was apparently 'super expensive' yet 'a super necessity'. Luigi wanted to vomit at the thought that he was once listening to a conversation about purses...

"Probably not. Only if I think of anything new to ask. But I doubt that. I need to sleep on it, first..." But with such a late-night party, he wasn't sure if he was even going to get much sleep. But with a homicidal maniac on the loose, he didn't plan to give up as easily as one might suspect. And with twists and assumptions galore, Mario wasn't certain of anything. Well, he was certain of _one_ thing. He _was_ going to catch the murderer...

**END OF ACT 2**


	3. Suspicions Galore

See? I told you it wouldn't take that long! =P

* * *

**Act 3-Suspicions Galore**

Mario was just finishing up his morning walk as he rounded the corner of Peach's castle. He felt cold and tired. The previous night was a complete pain when it came to sleep. And when he finally did move off into la-la land, a nightmarish dream awakened him at three in the morning and kept him awake for another hour after that. It was overall just a bad night...

But not a bad night when it came to putting homicidal lunatics behind bars. He figured he had a solid amount of information about the case already with him after the first visit. Just knowing that made him feel a whole lot better.

Mario approached the front doors of Peach's castle. He realized how unsocial he had been to her for the past couple of days. Not only does he ditch her to go pick up Daisy, but then he blows he off so he could examine some grass for a half hour.

"Hello, Mr. Mario," Toadsworth greeted him at the door, politely inviting him in. Mario graciously accepted the invite and stepped inside, feeling warmer already. And with a roaring fireplace in the adjacent room, he'd be bouncing his way in there in no time, "The princess is in there,"

Mario followed the direction of Toadsworth's pointed hand as he maneuvered his way into the next room. He felt so much less confused to be in Peach's castle, rather than the Countess's mansion. Not only did it have a simpler floor plan, but he was accustomed to the layout of the entire place. Maybe that's how the Countess felt in her mansion, eventually?

"Oh, hello there, Mario," Peach said, inviting him to sit into a chair in front of the warm fireplace, "Where's your brother?"

He was surprised to hear Peach sound so interested when it came to Luigi. Perhaps she just wanted to finish up her purse conversation from the previous night, "Ah, he and Daisy went out for breakfast at some restaurant. I wasn't interested, though..."

"Really? Not interested in food? That's a first..." She couldn't help but to say. They exchanged friendly smiles as Mario returned with his own comment.

"No, of course I'm interested in food. I'm interested in eating food...with you...not with them," He sounded like he was going to be some guy that planned to flirt with some girl in some movie. But Mario and Peach were already an unmarried couple, so he wouldn't really need to flirt with her much.

"Oh..." Peach giggled to herself, "I see," She always admired Mario's desire to want to be around her. That is, of course, except for the last couple of days, when they were introduced to the beginning of the new year. But it was for the best, she assumed. And anyways, he was solving a mystery. Not sneaking out of the house to meet with his secret lover.

Just then Peach's house phone rang. She didn't even bother getting it, figuring it was something useless that one of her staff could take care of. And besides, she was a princess, not a telephone operator.

The duo heard some jibber-jabber in a distant room. They couldn't make out the words, but they could tell from the approaching footsteps that it was going to be a call Peach would have to take. They simultaneously frowned.

"Excuse me...princess?" Toadbert appeared at the end of the room, "Someone wants to speak with you..."

The princess nodded him off and answered the phone after a few seconds of hard thinking. She had a feeling she knew exactly who was going to be calling her..., "Hello?"

"Peach? It's Goombelle..."

Of course it is...when isn't it? This girl, just by herself, was going to run up her phone bill twenty times a week, at this rate. Really though, she just didn't know when to quit. And besides, Peach could recite in her mind exactly how the call was going to go. 'You have one day left'. And then Peach hangs up the phone. It would be that simple.

"What do you want?"

"My, my, that's not very princess-like, princess," Goombelle said into the phone. Already Peach found herself wanting to strangle some non-existent object that she wished was in front of her, "You should be more polite with your friends,"

"Your friends? Oh please?" Peach muttered, shaking her head in disgust. Apparently the Goomba girl used the 'annoy the other person' technique to try and get Peach to buy the information from her. Somehow that just wasn't going to work with the princess...

All Mario could do what stare at Peach as though he had just been told he was the winner of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. His face was anything but expressionlessly dull. It read 'what the heck?' all over it...

Mario had only heard the princess talk so hostilely (if that's what you could even call it) one other time in his life before. And that very time...was the very day she miraculously stood up to the Goomba girl. So who on Earth could she be talking to. Was there anyone that existed that she despised as much as that girl? Definitely not. Unless, of course, you counted Peach's non-existent mother-in-law...

"But anyway, I'm sure you know why I'm calling..." She said. And Peach clearly did. How couldn't you? Nine out of ten of Peach's phone calls would be used up by this lunatic reminding Peach of the exact same thing. It was like she thought the princess had memory loss, or something. If anything, calling Peach 24/7 was making it seem like she had the memory loss. Really though, didn't this girl have anything better to do than to bug princesses? She was a news reporter. Didn't she have anything better to do than to drive Peach off the edge of insanity?

"Don't you realize that I'm just going to ignore you no matter what you say? Get that through your head!" And with that, Peach slammed the phone down, startling Mario. The plumber didn't know how to react. His mind was at a stand-still. For that matter, his whole body was at a stand-still. All he could do was stare, his mouth open, as though he had just been told the princess had been brutally murdered by some man off the street.

Peach was too busy intently thinking over the phone call to notice Mario's horrified stare. Normally she would get uncomfortable in that kind of instance, but her recent confrontation with Goombelle seemed to suck all the discomfort out of her. She felt possessed by some evil force that could care less about her surroundings, but, more or less, about the things she hated most. And it was clear that that thing was having her daily tête-à-tête with the Goomba girl.

"Mario..." Peach said generously, holding his hand as though she were about to propose, "Why are you staring at me like that?" Not only was her communication with Goombelle interesting, but her bipolar reactions were also a bit strange.

"Who was that?!" Mario couldn't help but to ask, awfully curios about why Peach had bitten their head off the way she did. Mario could tell something strange was going on, but he most certainly couldn't tell what. Either Peach's old high school rival had just called her on the phone, or she got up on the wrong side of the bed today...

"It was Goombelle Goombly..." She answered, her tone of voice expressing that it should have been obvious for him to realize that. And it was then that Peach realized she had never told anyone about her unpleasant...discussions with the Goomba girl.

Mario shook his head with dismay, "Who?"

"You know...the Goomba girl?"

Wow did Mario's head suddenly hurt. It was like Peach had just bludgeoned him with a boulder. And it most certainly was a boulder...a boulder of information. Although normally saying somebody's name wouldn't give Mario severe head trauma, but it just seemed so random and out there that he was almost interested in what on Earth was going on. Had Peach suddenly befriended the Goomba girl, or were they engaging themselves in another cat-fight that could only be resolved with manipulation and deceit? Just thinking about that question made Mario want to get a one-way-warp-pipe to that restaurant his brother was eating at. Sure he wasn't a number one Luigi fan, but he'd rather go through that torture than let his head explode, "You're talking to her again?"

"Well, I...she called me..."

Peach made it sound so normal Mario wasn't even sure what to say. Apparently she knew a lot more than he did, so he wanted to hear what she had to say..., "About what?"

"She said she knew who the murder was to the Countess's case...and would provide me with the murderer's name and how they did it if I paid her a 'small fee'..."

"That's officially the biggest load of crap I've ever heard," Mario couldn't help but to notice some of the Toad staff staring at him awkwardly. But he simply shoved them off with a twist of his head and a shift of his body. Really though, he could care less what they thought of him.

"You mean...she...doesn't know?" Now it was Peach's turn to get a big shock to her system. Sure the Goomba girl wasn't exactly one of those trustworthy kind of people, but Peach really did believe Goombelle...

"Of course not. She's a greedy snob. She would've taken all the credit. There's absolutely no way she would want to promote your reputation..." Mario said. And he had a point. The kind of point that Peach couldn't help but to agree with.

"Well I...guess you're right..." Peach's eyes widened suddenly. She looked as though someone had just stuck a knife in her back. She began to contort her body as though she had some kind of abdominal pain. But actually, she was just trying to avoid Mario's gaze, "You mean if I agreed to what she had said...I would have been duped?"

Mario nodded and sighed, "We have a phone call to make..."

* * *

"Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you weren't a princess?" Luigi asked, taking a bite of his mushroom toast. Just the taste of the crispy bread made him feel a whole lot better. A whole lot rejuvenated, too.

"Of course I do. And I think it would be a lot less stressful," Daisy answered, sipping her coffee in a very princess-like manner. Even the way she ate had to be top-notch perfect. Luigi could understand what she meant when she said that her life would be less stressful...

"Don't you wish you weren't...you know, a princess?"

Daisy thought about it for a moment. It was a good question. A question that she had to ponder over for a few seconds before she was sure of her reply, "Not really. Despite it being painful at times, it's not all that bad..."

Luigi remained silent after her reply. He wasn't entirely sure what shut him up so suddenly, but he didn't have any urge to speak or say something on the matter. Actually, he didn't really have anything to say. And neither did Daisy. Besides the ruckus everyone else was making, the room was silent to them.

Daisy inconspicuously watched Luigi, every now and then taking her eyes off him to watch some other person make a fool out of themselves. And for the whole minute this went on, never did he look up at her. It was like he was completely blocking her out, or something. Almost like...he didn't want to be with her. Or, perhaps, he was just too engulfed in his food to notice her. But either way, it surprised her...in a bad way...

Maybe this was how Luigi had felt last night when Daisy had done the same thing towards him? Sure she didn't do it purposely, but he didn't know that. For all he knew, she was eying up some handsome aristocrat that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with...

"Luigi?" She murmured, unsure of whether or not to interrupt his eating. She wouldn't have been surprised if he went ballistic on her. How dare she interrupt him from his meal? It was clearly a devastating crime that neither of the Mario brothers could tolerate, "What's the matter?"

He glanced up from his piece of toast, watching as Daisy uncomfortably shifted her position. By the look on his face, she could tell something was wrong. But whether or not his uneasy reaction was caused by her interruption, she was yet to find out...

* * *

_Ring...ring..._

"Hello?"

"Hello. Goombelle?" Mario asked into the phone, trying to use the most polite voice he possibly could. But when it came to cheating his girlfriend out of her money, there wasn't much room left for politeness, anyway.

"Yes, who is this?"

Mario was a bit surprised she couldn't his voice. Sure the phone lines made his voice sound a tad different, but when you're talking to the Superman of the Mushroom Kingdom, it's hard to ignore, "You're speaking to Mario Mario, and I have some things I'd like the tell you,"

Silence. Mario was ready to call stupidly into the phone after her to ensure she was still there. But she was. She was just a tad surprised to hear him calling her, "Well, I...what do you want?"

"I want to tell you to stop calling the princess," He said, looking up at Peach, who met his glance with an appreciated smile, "She's not going to agree to whatever you're trying to offer her, so just leave her alone,"

"You mean Peach? Oh, this is between her and I. Not you," Clearly she was getting her brattiness back. Perhaps she had run out of her snob energy before Mario called. But now it was back. And now it was annoying Mario more than ever. How dare she use the princess's name as though they had been friends for years? It angered Mario to know that Peach was not getting the appreciation she deserved. Really, though, if Goombelle was so full of herself, could she, perhaps, dictate one of the most popular nation's in the world? Knowing her, though, she'd just make everyone her slave and ensure that everything was suiting her to the highest of standards. What a selfish kind of person she was...

"Besides, it's clear you truly have no idea who the murderer was. We know your type, I'm afraid. You'd never miss out on a chance to boost your popularity. Especially if it meant taking it away from the princess," Mario fired back, silencing Goombelle to a painful case of Mario's earlier head trauma. She recognized it as the feeling she got whenever she had been beat. And now, she knew she couldn't escape the clutches of Mario's infernal grasp. There was no point in lying, now...

"I suppose you are correct, as it seems Peach has stupidly joined sides with you. I knew she was always a stupid girl..." Goombelle shook her head, highly disappointed. Yet again that duo managed to spoil her plans and leave her to rot with self pity.

And to think she called the princess a stupid girl. Clearly she wasn't accustomed to looking in the mirror or to talking about herself. Again, this angered Mario. But just the feeling of suppressing the Goomba girl made him feel a whole lot better inside...

Even Peach couldn't help but to flash a huge smile. Just by the tone of Mario's voice and the grin on his face, she could tell that they had done anything but lost the battle. And for those who are keeping score, it's the princess: 2, and the Goomba girl: 0...

* * *

It turned out that the result of Luigi's nervous expressions were caused by the coming and going of a quick head-ache. And if eating fast was one source for causing a head-ache, then Daisy could bet that that was just what made his head hurt. Still, though, he had some creepy look on his face for nearly a minute. Daisy thought it was some possessed trance that could only be broken by those with intense mental power (like Mario).

But either way, Luigi wasn't dying, so Daisy was happy. And was happy to know they were getting out of that restaurant, too. Apparently at noon that place became a mad house for all of the low-life idiots that decided to congregate at their nearby restaurant.

"We should go find Mario and Peach at the castle. I'm sure they're waiting for us..." Luigi suggested, stepping into his car and taking a relaxing seat at the driver's position. He waited a little bit for the 'aftershock' of his head-ache to wear off before he cautiously drove out of the crowded parking lot. Then he began his painfully slow drive towards Peach's castle.

That was one thing that the Mario brothers had in common; they drove like they were eighty. If it weren't for the endless honking of the horns behind them, then they'd go half the speed limit, if they wanted to. t was likes some crazy compulsion that the two of them shared.

"That's true..." Daisy mumbled, closing her eyes for a hopefully peaceful moment or two. That was definitely something she needed...peace. It was clearly something you didn't get very often when maintaining a nation all on your own...

And it was especially something you didn't get when you were stuck in a mind-bending mystery with lies and deceit. But with Mario working the case like a mad-man, it would only be a matter of time before the criminal was caught and the world would be restored...at least, that's what they hoped...

* * *

Mario and Peach decided to head out for the day. No, they weren't going out to eat. And no, they weren't going to the mall, either. Instead, they were going to spend the afternoon at the Countess's White House.

"Why are we going here again?" Peach asked, hoping her constant nagging would make Mario realize that she wasn't in favor of driving for forty-five minutes to visit the Countess for a half hour. Somehow, it just seemed like a waste of time. And that was certainly one thing Peach wasn't known to do: be wasteful.

"I told you, we need to question the Count. I couldn't do that last night. And I'd like to question his wife, as well, if you don't mind..." Certainly Peach did mind, but she restrained herself from saying so. She would have just liked for him to tell her why on Earth he had dragged her into doing this. She could have used this precious time to devise a counter-attack on the Goomba girl, for all she cared.

"But why do you need me?"

Mario was silent for some time. It was as if she had said something that clearly affected his train of thought. She wasn't entirely sure as to what shut him up so suddenly, but she had to admit, she liked the quietness.

"For company...and, to listen..." Somehow Peach just wasn't buying that. To listen? He could dragged along his brother to do that. He was clearly hiding something. But Peach made a vow not to try and figure it out. Besides, Mario's entire life was an enigma from the inside out. Who knew what kind of crazy plan he needed her for?

"So what do you hope to find out?" Peach said after another long silence. For some reason, this silence wasn't as welcoming as the last. And she certainly didn't like listening to the sound of cars passing her on the highway and the sound of a dull rustling. Apparently something was wrong with Mario's car. Perhaps it ruined itself from Mario's breakneck speed driving.

Mario glanced at her, which was a surprise. Usually he had his head glued out the windshield to ensure that the cars in front of him were not doing anything 'harmful', as he would put it. But somehow, so nonchalantly, he just looked at her. She wasn't sure if whether or not he lost his mind, or if he was trying to daringly impress her, "I hope to gain new information, of course. And asking other people will certainly help out with that..."

* * *

Luigi cautiously pulled into Peach's grand drive-way, stepping out on the gravely pavement beneath him. Something about his surroundings seemed...odd. Perhaps it was Mario's missing car? "Where'd my brother go?"

"What?" Daisy asked, stepping out of the passengers seat. Luigi admired her movements, watching each distinct turn and twist she made with her body. If he wasn't her boyfriend, she would have thought of him to be some creepy stalker...

"Mario said he was going to drive over to the castle. Where did he park his car?" Daisy wanted to tell him that it was no big deal. It wasn't like someone just hi-jacked his car without anyone noticing. And besides, why on Earth would someone want to steal a rusty old mini van with a monotonous rattling sound?

"Maybe he went somewhere?" Daisy suggested. You didn't really have to be a Ken Jennings to think of a solution like that. Either Luigi was completely losing his mind, or the 'aftershocks' of his head-ache were getting to him.

The duo walked up the short staircase to arrive at the front door. Sure it wasn't the size of the Countess's front door, but it was still a good fifteen feet tall and ten feet wide. Obviously Peach never had any problems carrying furniture into her house...

Toadsworth greeted them at the door in his normal, polite manner. The way he acted gave both of them the creeps. Actually, the way any servant acted was a bit strange. Using the words 'master' and 'very good' all the time was just a bit...abnormal. Why on Earth would anyone want to be called the master? And even yet, why on Earth would anyone want to call someone else their master? They weren't dogs, and this wasn't meant to be a house full of expressionlessly crazy servants.

"Hello there, Toadsworth," Luigi said, sauntering into the room in a most unpleasant way. Even for Daisy, the way he staggered made her feel a bit uncomfortable. He didn't have a hangover, and he wasn't trying to impress someone, so why on Earth was he moving about as though he just took a handful of sleeping pills? "Are Mario and the princess here?"

Toadsworth shook his head, "I'm afraid they left about ten minutes ago. As to where they went, I can honestly say that I don't know. I wasn't informed upon the matter," He led them into a spacious room with a truckload of (not to be rude to Peach) hideous regal furniture that made it look more like a funeral parlor than a living space.

Luigi took it upon himself to plop down on one of the large sofas that seemed to accumulate annoyingly in the room. So much for actually moving around...and to think that Peach's staff had to clean all this, too. Sure, if it was up to Peach, they wouldn't be doing half the work they were already doing, but it wouldn't be very princess-like to let her castle accumulate with dust and dirt, either.

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Mario arrived at the Countess's. Peach almost wanted to praise him for getting at her mansion within fifty minutes. Usually it took him an hour or so, since the speed limits were unfortunately low. But he must have realized the error in his ways and decided to drive at a more human-like pace. Really though, he fought giant turtles in combat, destroyed a 1,000 year old queen after rising from the dead, and took down creatures of all shapes and sizes. You'd think he'd be a little more daring when it came to driving...

"Ah, come in! Come in!" The Count greeted them at the door in him usual jovial voice. Somehow that man never seemed to be in unhappy spirits. It was a trait that most people wished they could inherit, "We weren't expecting guests, but now that you're here, we can hardly refuse your entrance!"

Mario thanked him and slipped passed him into the mall. Peach did the same after a little bit of idle chit-chat, and took her place next to the outrageously daring driver with the red cap. The Count invited them into the dining room, and they could hardly refuse. And for Mario, that could possibly mean...food...

But, as a disappointment to him, it didn't. Apparently the dining room was the new place for interrogations, though. Mario stood up the from the table and waltzed around the room as he were some police officer and the Count was some low-life that was chained to a desk, "We came here to ask you about the murders...you and your wife..."

The Count paused for a moment and then spoke up, "I must apologize, but my wife is away at the moment and we can't expect her to be back for another two hours...I wouldn't mind you staying until her return, though..."

Mario shook his head, and Peach let out a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted to do was sit around and listen to the two of them talk for a couple of hours. It wasn't exactly her cup of tea, even though being at her castle and facing the difficulties of being a princess also wasn't relaxing.

"So then, please, if you don't mind," Mario started, "Tell me everything that happened from the time before the murder until the murder itself. Let's say, what happened in the hour before the killings?"

The Count took a deep breathe, as though he were about to dive in a swimming pool and try to win the 'longest underwater' award. This told Mario that his speech was going to be anything but simple..., "Well, everyone was basically attending to their own household duties, at least for the staff..."

"And what were you doing?"

Peach found herself looking from one to the other as though watching some verbal cat fight that you would see on TV. She stayed silent, though, daring not to interfere with the 'detective' and his work. That was one thing she always referred to Mario as. A detective. Despite the fact that he would always modestly deny his sleuthing skills, she would never succumb to his 'give it rest'.

"I was moderating the staff, to ensure that everything would be perfect for the get-together. It's not easy maintaining a house of this size, you know,"

Mario was determined to say 'no duh', but the last thing he wanted to do was to get on the Count's bad side. So, instead, he and Peach exchanged glances, both of them catching on to what the Count had said.

"Alright..."

The Count took another breathe, "My wife was out of the house, getting a cake, actually. She didn't get back until thirty minutes after the murder, I'd say..." A perfect alibi. Sure they weren't suspecting someone like the Countess to brutally murder two people, but having an alibi when no one else did could also be a bad thing...

* * *

Luigi and Daisy found themselves adjourning to the dining room for a nice cup of hot cocoa. It was delicious, and soothed the bitterly chill that was inside their bodies. And with a roaring fireplace only a few feet away, they felt more like they were tanning by a pool than being locked inside during the winter. It was relaxing, and both of them were determined to kick back and fall asleep right then and there.

"I wonder when they'll be back..." Daisy said, almost to herself. Luigi didn't hear her those. Either he was playing the 'ignore Daisy game' again, or her words were drowned out by the roar of the fireplace and the continual call of dream-land. Daisy figured it was a combination of both...

So instead of yelling his name and having him clumsily drop his cocoa on himself, she decided to join him and close her eyes. It was just so refreshing. More refreshing than a cold pool on a scorching summer day.

As for Luigi, words and thoughts entered and left his mind like a whirlwind of crazy proportions. All of the endless thoughts were beginning to get to him, so he shook his head, hoping that his movement would fling the incessant thoughts right out of him. But it didn't. If anything, his head began to throb a little and his muscles began to tire. Perhaps he was being a little theatrical, but it was strange to feel any pain from a simple shake of the head, "Urgh..."

Daisy's eyes popped open as though she were just coming to the climax of a horrid nightmare. Her eyes felt a bit heavy, and she yawned. She even took a moment to recollect any memories of her falling asleep. Obviously though, she didn't. Even though it did feel like she'd been knocked out for a good hour and a half and had been forcibly awakened against her will, "Luigi? What's wrong?"

"Head-ache," He mumbled. He was beginning to sound like a broken record with this whole head-ache thing. And to be honest, it was getting a bit annoying. So maybe his head hurt a bit. He wasn't dying. He wasn't suffering massive head hemorrhaging. It was just a slight pain in his head. Sheesh, the way people carry on these days...

"You'll be fine," Daisy reassured, even though she sounded more like a frustrated witch than a caring mother. But either way, Luigi's 'head-ache' completely droned out her voice, and, inserted, in her place, was a dull ringing sound that made him just want to crawl in a hole and die.

* * *

"And where was everybody at the time of the murder?" Mario queried, watching as the Count shifted uneasily in his chair. Something by the way this man acted was a bit...strange. It wasn't like his normal and jovial self. It was more like a nervous, cowardly act that could only draw suspicion to himself.

"My servant, Toadriko, was hosting a meeting in the ballroom for asll my staff, so everyone was there..." The Count said, still unlike his normal tone of voice. Not only did it sound odd, but, even worse, it sounded like he was hiding something...

"And when did you find the body? After the meeting?"

"Oh, no..." The Count exclaimed in a rather jumpy manner. If he was hiding something, he was doing a terrible job at it. It he was pretending to be hiding something, then he was a pro, "I didn't attend the meeting. I stumbled upon the bodies about five minutes after it started..."

"Thank you, Count..." Mario said, glancing down at a not-so-happy princess. Not only was she unable to use her big voice and join in on their conversation, but she knew how much time she was wasting, "I think we'd better be going..."

As if by magic, the Count's mood changed entirely. He was no longer a worrywart, but more of a jolly Santa Claus that you couldn't help but to respect and love, "Oh, won't you stay for some tea? Or perhaps a meal?"

As much as Mario would have liked to, they had already wasted enough time as it was. Well, in Mario's mind it wasn't a waste. It was actually a great break-through in the case. But, of course, Peach wasn't exactly Sherlock Holmes, so she had no idea how important this conversation may have been. All it was to her was a ninety minute chance to get motion sick in the car.

"We'd love to, but we really should be getting back..." And after a few more minutes of mumbles of departure, Mario and Peach managed to break free from the Count and get back outside. Despite the chilliness of the wintery breezes, they were still pleased to get some fresh air. Somehow that massive house turned into an oven during the winter, and it was anything but refreshing.

As the two exited the house, Mario abruptly stopped the princess in the middle of the yard. She stared at him in horror as though she had just been told that Mario was a vampire. But somehow she just found it awkward to loiter in the yard of the richest aristocrat in the Chocolate Mountains. Perhaps a skateboard park, or something, but not a yard the size of a football field that was cluttered with fountains and neatly cut grass...

"Peach, something was awkward about that..." Mario said, grabbing her shoulders as though he were about to shake her from a mesmerizing trance. She tried to shake him off, but he ignored any of her 'get off me' gestures and simply squeezed her tighter, "And didn't you hear what he said?"

"Hear what he said? I heard him just fine. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"What does it have to do?!" Mario shook his head as though it should have been obvious for Peach to have realized her stupid mistake. But somehow, she just wasn't catching on..., "Didn't you hear him? He basically confessed!"

The princess provided him with a blank stare. He was a bit taken aback by the disappointment and confusion in her eyes. She just wasn't jumping with excitement like he suspected she would, "As far as I'm concerned, he confessed nothing. Or am I wrong?"

"You are..." Mario exclaimed, still overjoyed that he found some excellent clue. But if he didn't reveal whatever it was, already, Peach might have to beat it out of him out of sheer impatience. Yet again, they were wasting time. And even if whatever Mario was going to say showed any importance, couldn't he just tell her in the car? Or would, perhaps, the rattling noise drown his voice out?

"I am?"

"Yes," Mario said, "Didn't you hear me ask him what everyone was doing at the time of the murder?" Peach just stared, "Well, he actually answered with a legitimate answer! How else could he have known where everyone else was at the time of the murder? Either he committed it, himself, or he was a conspirator in doing so...and besides, his staff were all occupied in the ballroom, and better yet, he didn't attend the meeting. It's obvious he was committing the crime!"

Peach thought over what he had said. It all made sense, but there were so many loose ends that could have been tied with a different solution, "Maybe he thought you meant 'where was everyone when you found the bodies'? It's a similar question, and, according to him, it happened around the same time. If he is innocent, and that's what he meant, then I doubt the murder occurred during the meeting, so he had no chance to kill them without being noticed..."

Mario shrugged indifferently. Sure Peach had a good point, but he just wasn't buying it. And when Mario had the solution all worked out in his head, he didn't plan to change it unless someone else practically confessed, "I suppose...but I think we really have to suspect the Count. Just because he's rich and famous doesn't mean he couldn't have committed a crime..."

"Alright, I guess..." Peach gave in. She figured any more hassling that he was innocent would only pose to be a great waste of time. And when Mario gets a hunch, he sticks with it...no matter _what_ he has to do...

* * *

Mario and Peach arrive back at the castle nearly an hour later. Due to heavy traffic on the highway, they wound up arriving back a little later than they expected. But ah well, they already had wasted enough time today as it was. Peach came to realize that fifteen minutes was no big deal.

"Peach, i need your phone..." Mario said urgently as they stepped out of the car. Now it was Mario's turn to act a bit out of place. And Peach was quite unsure as to what Mario was going to do with her phone...

"Why?"

"I just do,"

Peach shrugged and figured she better not ask any more questions. Besides, she'd be giving in to him one way or another, so she decided to take the quickest way possible...and although it involved no arguments, she still found herself curious as to what concoction Mario was going to make with her phone...

"You can use the one in the study," Peach said, pushing past Toadsworth as he greeted her at the door. And yet he still looked completely expressionless and unmoved that the princess had stomped her way into the kitchen.

Mario did as he was told, creeping into the study as though he were the James Bond of the Mushroom Kingdom. Either some big money deal was about to go down, or Mario had the knack for creeping around like a spy.

He dialed the desired number with ease, as though he had been using this phone number his whole life. Or perhaps it was just the fact that his memory was enough to withstand any other human being that dare challenge him in a game of Simon.

"Hello?" Answered the voice on the other line. Just hearing the voice gave Mario the creeps, and he began to wish he hadn't called at all. So instead of replying with an expected 'hello', he simply stared off into the distance as though mesmerized by some incredible scene, "Hello?!"

"Oh, umm...hello. This is Mario..."

"Mario...why are you calling me...again?"

Mario bit his lip in frustration. He could tell that what he was going to do would pose to be no easy task. If anything, it would be harder than your daily military workout, "Goombelle, don't complain, and just listen..."

Silence...for once she actually was listening. Sure she probably just left the phone off the hook and went to go get a shower, but at least she wasn't complaining and whining like her usual self...

"The princess and I have found the true murderer to this crime...but we still need more facts, and, of course, proof. This won't be easy, so we need your help..."

The Goomba girl's jaw dropped in amazement. Somehow she just couldn't see Peach signing off to this. That princess would rather go through Luigi's 'head-ache' ten times than to ask for Goombelle's help, "You...you need me?"

"Yes..." Mario sighed. He knew he was going to regret asking this, but a murderer was on the loose. And this murderer needed to be caught, no matter what kinds of deals had to be made. And it was clear to understand that the Goomba girl certainly would be looking for a deal for all of her hard work..., "We need you to manipulate the Count into revealing exactly how he committed the murder. Be creative. Think of anything. Just don't let him know that you were hired. Go about it casually. You know..."

"Woah, woah, woah..." Goombelle said, trying to escape Mario's endless barrage of instructions. She hadn't even agreed to do this yet and he wasn't shutting up, "I'm not just going to do this for you..."

"And I know that..." Mario said, acknowledging the fact that he clearly knew that the Goomba girl would never do something for the greater good. It was like crime in her mind. Unless you get heavily paid for your work, there's no reason to do anything that could possibly be of assistance to society, "So I want to make you a deal. If you catch the Count for us, you get all credit in solving the mystery...can you imagine what that would do to your reputation?"

The Goomba girl just sat there, an amazed look on her face. She almost wanted Mario to be sitting there with her just so he could see how grateful she really was...even though she wasn't grateful at all. Just greedy.

"We can talk about this more when you get to the castle..." Mario said, making plans that he knew Goombelle couldn't help but to agree with. He was getting her right where he wanted her. And, more importantly, he was getting the Count into a situation he would clearly not want to be in. But one thing was for sure...never did Mario think in his entire life would he be saying this: 'I'm working with the Goomba girl...'

**END OF ACT 3**

* * *

And the next act will come even faster. I've been anticipating act 4 for a while now, and I'm excited to say that it will be out soon.


End file.
